


Darkness Born

by xenoglossia (oncharredwings)



Series: One Shots & Shorts [21]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Battle, Gen, Implied Soriku, Rage, Rage form, The Unversed (Kingdom Hearts), minor gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-21 17:17:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18145124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oncharredwings/pseuds/xenoglossia
Summary: He is darkness.He is the shadow Sora casts and the shadows in his heart.





	Darkness Born

**Author's Note:**

> I love the headcanon that Vanitas & Sora can become one as his "rage" form. 
> 
> Listen to ["Dark Matter"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbz355PwFl4) while listening :)

Blackness stretching as far as the eye can see with no beginning or end – no light in the sky, no horizon’s edge, only a sea of blackness which moves as one unit like a field of grass in the wind. The acrid smell of blood and death floods his nose but he doesn’t hesitate before driving the end of his keyblade into the nearest heartless’ skull, cracking it open like an egg. Black blood covers his boots but he walks through the field of death with no fear.

They’re surrounded and he knows there is no hope for light to prevail. The heartless are too great, even with their added guardians and help, there is not enough power for them to drive back the dark. Sora is ahead of him on the field, driving back as many as he can, his keyblade shining in the dark. Sora has always been the light – his light, even, which makes Vanitas’ lip curl in disdain.

Never in his life had he believed he would ever be a part of the _light_ .   
  
He is darkness.

He is the shadow Sora casts and the shadows in his heart.

He accepts his dark nature even if he now uses the darkness for light. Not something he ever wanted but the Organization had left him bleeding and broken one too many times. Xehanort, morally redeemed in the end, did not deserve to find peace in the afterlife while he went to sleep in Sora’s heart. He can still remember Sora pulling him free, wrapping his hands around his arms and guiding him out of the darkness which tried to bind him forever.

He’d swam free of the ocean and felt his lungs inflate with fresh oxygen while Sora pulled him to shore. He’d never thought he would be in the realm of light, not even when Sora reached out his hand, to help pull him free. Even now, as he walks through countless heartless and strikes them down, the unversed walking in his wake, he feels as though he moves in a dream. He could never be helpful or useful – only a tool.

An asset.

A wave of heartless rise up above Sora and Vanitas watches as they overwhelm him faster than anyone can counter. Riku is too bogged down to run to his side and the others are too far away. Sora’s name escapes his lips and he feels his legs move before his brain can form a decision. He strikes heartless down as he leaps and bounds over the field until he breaks through the wall to find Sora lying on the ground, bleeding, and broken.

“Sora,” he gasps, slowly sliding to his knees to wrap his arms around Sora’s broken body. He pulls Sora to his chest and the Unversed surround them as another line of defense.

Hatred and anger fill Vanitas’ heart as he holds Sora’s fading light in his arms.

“Only I can hurt him,” Vanitas growls to the darkness as it fights back. He cups Sora’s face in his hands, fingers wiping away blood and dirt. “Sora, give me your _hate_ , your _pain_ , let us be one. Succumb to your darkness.”

Sora is close to unconsciousness but he can feel him resist. Sora does not like to succumb to shadow but Vanitas reaches in with his heart to bind them. Darkness wraps around Sora with black claws, their bodies and souls merging until he can feel himself slowly slide into place. Sora’s skin blackens and turns to shadow and smoke while Vanitas is gentle in setting him in autopilot.

_Sleep. Rest. My turn now._

Darkness chokes out the last bit of light and Sora slips into slumber. Vanitas picks u Sora’s keyblade and it blackens at his touch until he can hold both keyblades in hand. Smoke and shadow wrap and coils around him like a comforting blanket and the wall of unversed quickly scatter when his rage unleashes in an animalistic scream.

The heartless all turn to face him, the closest skittering away on spindly limbs. Vanitas grins, a flash of white in the shadow of his face, while he brandishes both keyblades. With Sora’s strength and his fighting power, there is no stopping their merged form. The first time they’d merged, Sora had not woken for days, staying locked away in his darkness while Riku and the others watched on in fear they would never have Sora again. This new form, the unversed form, is not one easily shaken.

Vanitas’ anger and rage are hard for him to shove aside once he unleashes it free but Sora is asleep and safe. He will keep Sora safe in slumber until he is healed. Despite Mickey’s warning, they practiced merging together late at night underneath the moon. Becoming one felt almost as good as becoming one with Ventus – maybe even more because he can feel all of Sora’s anger locked away safely behind his light. He has more rage than anyone Vanitas has ever met.

A secret Vanitas will carry to the grave.

The heartless all rush to him, trying to overwhelm him but he cuts a path with both keyblades, moving faster than they can escape. He cuts through the first front lines, spilling their blood upon dirt until the entire field is coated in black goo. His shoes slip more than once but he counters with fluid grace. A practiced fighter, Vanitas has spent hours learning to dance with every movement. His rage fills him until every heartless is rendered dead and the sky clears to show the sun shining down on the desert.

He drives his keyblades into the chest of a final heartless, ripping it in two, blood splattering across Riku’s surprised face while he stands, panting, with his own keyblade blackened with spoils of war. King Mickey, Axel, and Roxas all rush to Riku’s side. Vanitas is unsurprised to see Roxas place his entire body between Riku and Vanitas, holding out his keyblades at the ready.

More than once, Vanitas has attacked his friends while in a rage which left Sora hurting. He’s learned to reign in his anger once every enemy is vanquished. He twists his wrists and both of the keyblades vanish and he stands in a defensive position, ready to protect his precious cargo if they decide he is too dangerous to take home. He will not hesitate to strike any of them down.

“Sora?” Riku asks.

Vanitas speaks for both of them. “No,” he says, eyes red and glowing in the dark shadow of his face. “We are Vanitas.”

Riku’s face twists and his hand clenches into a fist. “Let him _go_.”

Mickey places his hand on Riku’s arm to keep him from attacking. “Is Sora safe?” he asks.

Vanitas nods. He can feel Sora’s heart beating with his – they are one unit now. “Safe,” he replies. There is a hunger inside both of them, the hunger to take more heartless, and destroy them. A hunger for hearts.

The darkness is a slippery slope and Vanitas understands why they are concerned for Sora’s safety. If Vanitas had his way, he would take Sora away from them, and they would wreak havoc on every world.

 _No_ , Sora whispers in his ear. _Vanitas._

 **_I know_ ** , he whispers back. **_Safe_ ** **.**

“How hurt is he?” Riku asks but Vanitas can see every cord of his muscles ready to spring into action.

“He will need a lot of rest,” he replies diplomatically.

The others all exchanged glances but no one else argues. Vanitas keeps Sora safe and there is no one here who can extract him. He smiles to himself while he follows them through a portal to travel to their home base so Sora can rest.

 _Thank you_.

**_I will keep you safe._ **

* * *

  


Three days pass and Sora still sleeps safely nestled inside while the darkness continues to coat Vanitas in its shadow. Part of him does not want to let Sora go; he feels complete with Sora nestled safely inside. He doesn’t sleep. He doesn’t eat. He only waits for Sora to wake.

The moon is high and he’s watching the sunset across the ocean in silence. He perches on a thin wall, kneeling like a gargoyle, overlooking the grand white city in silence. This is where Xehanort fell and Kingdom Hearts attempted to birth. Vanitas wishes he could have seen such an event.

 _I’m ready_ , Sora whispers in his ear like a soft lover.

Vanitas shudders. He is not ready to separate. **_No. A little longer._ **

_Vanitas, I’m ready to wake up now._

**_No._ **

_Vanitas–_

**_A little longer._ **

He shoves Sora back down, his hand choking off Sora’s mouth to silence him while he remains in this darkened form. A sound of feet on concrete makes him startle and he turns to see Riku approaching, face a cold and angry mask, keyblade in his right hand. His eyes dart to Riku’s left wrist and wonders if it hurts tonight.

Vanitas bares his sharpened teeth.

“It’s been three days,” Riku says as if he cannot count. “Let Sora go.”

“He isn’t ready,” he replies darkly. “Do you want me to spit him back up so you can see his ruined body and watch him _die_?”

Riku brandishes his keyblade but Vanitas is not afraid of him. “Let him go, Vanitas.”

“He’s not being held, _hostage_. He isn’t ready.” Vanitas can feel Sora fight but he wraps his arm tightly around Sora’s throat. “He needs more rest.”

“He isn’t a toy you can use for fun, Vanitas!” Riku shouts. “Let him _go_. I told Sora it was not a good idea to try to bring you to the light! I told him something bad would happen and now–… If you don’t give him back, I will force him out of you.”

Vanitas hums and smirks. “Kinky.”

“ _Let him go_.”

Vanitas can feel Sora fight and he is surprised at the effort he has to use to hold him back. **_Stop, Sora._ **

_I want to wake up! I’m ready. I’m ready! Stop it, Vanitas! You’re better than this._

**_We are darkness._ **

_No! You can let go! You can let go! Let me go!_

**_We are one, Sora. We are so powerful. Can you not feel our strength? Can you not feel our raw power? No one will defeat us or stand in the way. You and I can do so much together. Perhaps, more than Ventus and I. If we fuse with Ventus too–_ **

_No, Vanitas. This is the darkness talking. Let me go!_

Vanitas can feel a screech leave his throat while the darkness starts to recede from his limbs and when he looks down he can see Sora glowing inside his body as he once saw Ventus inside Sora. He tries to shove Sora back down, let the darkness wash over him once more.

**_Let the anger fill you, Sora! The hatred! The anger! We can destroy together._ **

“Vanitas!” Sora speaks through him and Vanitas screams in agony when Sora rips them apart.

Riku rushes forward and knocks Vanitas back until he smacks hard against a stone wall, his breath knocked out of him, while pain ravages his body from being forced to separate. Sora is panting, leaning on Riku for strength, and the moonlights behind them Vanitas is certain he can see pale outlines of wings behind Riku’s back.

Ah, yes.

The dreameater come to save his dreamer.

“Sora, are you alright?” Riku asks, cupping his face softly.

“Yeah,” Sora replies. “I’m okay.” He coughs and slowly straightens upright, anger in his eyes. “I told you to let me go, Vanitas.”

Vanitas can’t move, his body feeling broken and ripped open, while he stares up at them. “Sora…” he whispers, holding out his hand. Sora’s never denied him strength or help. The first person to really try and pull him free of his darkness; to show him he can be more.

“You were going to keep me locked away,” Sora snarls, tears filling his eyes. “I trusted you!”

“Let’s go, Sora,” Riku whispers, his arm around Sora’s waist to keep him back and help him stand.

Vanitas feels his eyes flutter shut while Sora walks away and shuts him out. The unversed floods slowly surround him as tears silently fall down his face. _I’m sorry_ , he whispers to Sora’s heart.

Darkness he was born and darkness is all he can be.

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/xenogl0ssia)


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